Meat-tenderizing machine



M; LANG MEAT-TENDERIZING MACHINE Dec. 19, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledAug. 9, 1946 INVENTOR. WM

g M L w M u M Dec. 19, 1950 M. LANG 2,534,357

MEAT-TENDERIZING MACHINE Filed Aug. 9, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "4&2 him. 1

46 54 Mug/any unvo- INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEMEAT-TENDERIZING MACHINE Murra-y Lang, New York, N. Y.-

ApplicationAugus't 9, 1946, Serial'-No.-68'9',543

4 Olaims.

This invention relates generally to a machine for-tenderizing 'cuts ofmeats, but more specifical- 1y to a machine having a ,pair :ofadjustably spaced and oppositely rotating toothed rollers adapted todrive cuts of meat-therelietween.

The main object of theinvention resides in the provision-of a machinefor tenderizin'g cuts 'of animal tissue such as meats thereby renderingthick'and toughcuts into thin and tender shoes which arepreferable forquick andeasy cooking and for agreeable taste and easy'mastication.

=Al'iurtherobjectiof the invention resides in the provision of such adevice having oppositely rotating rollers'providecl with juxtaposedteeth-of such design :and' shape as 'to quickly and effici'ently severthe surface fibres of the meat cuts thereby rendering themrnore tender,thinner and. at the same time retaining the integration-of each.

Afurther object-of the invention residesin the provision of a .devicehaving a pair of powerdriven and adjustably spaced toothed rollers for:tenderizing and controlling the thicknessoi meat cuts such as steaks,veal outlets and the like 'spassing therethrough.

Another objectof the inventionresides in the provision of'a meattend'erizer which is simple in construction, efiicient :and economical:in operation and which is sanitary and capable of :tenderi'zing a largequantity of meat cuts in a short interval of time.

These objects-and other incidental ends and advantages of the inventionwill hereinafter appear in the progress of the disclosure- "and aspoi-nted out in the appended claims.

(Accompanying this specification are drawings showinga preferred form-ofthe invention wherein corresponding reference characters designateeorrespondingparts throughout the. several views and. wherein:-

Figure :1 is a view in perspective of the .:meat :tenderizerwith'the,primewmover-omitted and the transmission meansconcealed.

Figure "2 is a topsplan view partly brokenaway of thedevice withthe'cover members removed -andshowing a feedinggplatform in phantom;

.Figure 3 is'a front view in elevation of the device :shown in :FigureFigure 4 is aside viewin-elevation taken along the plane 4-'4 10f Figure:2.

Figure 5:is an enlarged fragmentarysectional view taken along the brokenplain '5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is afragmentarysectionai view taken along the plane 6- 6-1ofFigured In accordance with the invention and :the

preferred fiform shown the device generally indicated by numeral 10 iscomprised'of two-spaced and endiupright supports 1 l and i2 havingspaced :fo'ot members i3 for attachment to any con- :venientbase by thefixing of fastening elements thereto through the apertures [4. Each ofthe uprights H and 12 as shown is provided with tapering side walls 5which terminate in a flat to'pwall it from which proceeds=downwardly acentral and vertically disposed U shaped notch it. To close the notch I5 ineachof the uprights ii and i2 and toserve as a support for raisingand lowering an upper roller '24 as will hereinafter appear is atop-cross member I8 which is secured to the flat top wall It of each ofthe uprights'by suitable'means such as bolts i 3.

To reinforce'the upright supports ii and I2 apa'ir of spaced tie rods2!! are provided adjacent the bottom of uprights I I and 82 secured bynuts 2| whilesim'ilar and more-closelyspaced tie rods 22 are providedadjacent the top of uprights H and I2 and are similarly secured as bynuts 23.

Interposed and mounted between the uprights H and [2 are a pair ofvertically spaced toothed r rollers 24 and 25 each provided withperipheral teeth 25in the form of truncated cones or pyra- Emidsthe saidteeth being adjustably spacedirom 'eachother and opposed to each other.The upper roller 24 is adapted for' vertical adjustment while the lowerrol1er '25 is adapted to be mounted for rotation between alignedopenings 27 and 28 in theuprights H and [2.

'The upper roller 2% isadapted to be mounted in a pair of slidablemembers each designated by numeral 29 andeachslidablyengaging the wallsof slotil byimeans of U-s'haped side walls 2% as best shown in Figureminates at the top in a gear wheel 33 both of the saidvgear wheels beingconnected by means of a sprocket chain 34a as best seen in Figure 2, Itis thus seen that-by manipulatinga handle 33 which projects above one'ofthe gearwheels the other shaft is similarly affected and by virtue ofthe threadedengagemcnt betweenea'ohoi the shafts =3! and the threadedopening lS'a'in each of the top cross pieces lii'a raising or lower' 1gof the upper roller 24 will be effected throughthe move- :mentof themembers 25 within the slots ii :in

uprights?! I and :2 as will more fully appe'ar.

It'is" to-be observed that the sprocket chain S lo causes thegear wheels33 torotate at anwequal rate and to maintain the spacing between rollers24 and 25 in proper alignment and also to serve as a locking device toprevent relative movement between bearings 29 and 29a.

To prevent the meat cut from becoming enmeshed in either of the rollers24 or 25 there are provided a pair of longitudinal guards 35 and 36mounted between uprights II and I2 at the rear of rollers 24 and 25 eachof the guards having notches as at 36a to receive the teeth 26 of eachof the rollers. The guards as shown are fastened to the inner walls ofthe uprights H and I2 by means of screws 31 penetrating the end walls ofthe guards.

To drive the toothed rollers 24 and 25 a prime mover such as an electricmotor 33 is provided which engages a gear reduction mechanism 39. Ashaft 48 secured to the gear reduction mechanism 39 is coupled at 4|with the power intake shaft 42 which proceeds through the opening 2! inupright I I from the lower and stationary roller 25. The opposite end ofthe roller 25 is provided with a stub shaft 33 rotating in the opening28 of upright l2. A bracket M is secured to the outer wall of upright ll and is adapted to support shaft :32, the said shaft beyond upright l land inside bracket 44 being provided with a driving gear 45 which isadapted to cause opposite rotation of a driven gear 45 on one of thestub shafts l? of top roller 24. The stub shaft 4'! penetrates centralbearing 29a in the sliding member 29 in one of the uprights such as l l,the opposite end of roller 24 having a stub shaft 48 mounted in asimilar sliding member 23 in upright I2.

Since roller 24 is adjustably spaced from the stationary roller 25, apair of idler gears 49 and '58 are provided between driving gear 45 anddriven gear 46. For this purpose a link on shaft 42 and on each side ofdriving gear 45 proceeds to each side of stub shaft 52 carrying idler4s. A second link 53 proceeds from each side of stub shaft 52 andproceeds to a stub shaft 54 on each side of idler 5E; and a third link55 proceeds from each side of stub shaft 54 to each side of stub shaft4! carrying the driven gear it. In this manner any adjustment of roller25 by movement of handle 34 results in the driving of gear 46 from thedriving gear 55 through the links 5i 53 and 55 and the idlers 49 and 50.

In order to serve as a stop for the lowest position of link 5| a bracket56 secured to upright H is provided all as best shown in Figure 4. Thetransmission means between driving gear 45 and driven gear 46 may beconcealed by a cover 5! secured to the wall of upright H as by screws58, while a cover 59 may be provided to guard sprocket chain 3% securedto the top cross members 58 as by screws 69. Moreover, the meat cutsadapted to be thinned and tenderized are fed between rollers 24 and 25in a frozen condition to expedite thinning and proper tenderizing, thesaid feeding being done by means of a stationary or movable platform Glas shown in phantom in Figure 2.

The device is capable of being usable either for cuts of fresh meat ormeat that has been frozen at about 40 F. The cuts after passing throughthe device are not macerated nor shredded and the surface presents awafiie-like design. An important feature resides in the adjustability ofthe distances between the ends of the teeth 26 on the rollers 24 and 25to control the thickness of the meat and the degree of tenderizingthereof.

I wish it understood that minor changes and variations in the number,size, shape, location,

material and integration of the parts of invention may all be resortedto without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1, In a meat tenderizing machine, end supporting uprights, a stationarycrushing roller journalled in the uprights and having peripheral teeth,an adjustable crushing roller cooperating with the stationary roller andhaving oppositely disposed peripheral teeth to compress the meat cutpassing therebetween, a shaft to drive the stationary roller, slidablejournalling means for the adjustable roller mounted in the uprights,extendible transmission means between the shaft and the movable rollerto cause opposite rotation thereof, and a locking device connected tosai slidable journalling m ans and supported by the urigh ts to fix theposition of said journalling means with respect to each other inadjusted position.

2. In a meat tenderizing machine, end supporting uprights, a stationarycrushing roller journalled in the uprights and having peripheral teeth,an adjustable crushing roller cooperating with the stationary roller andhaving oppositely disposed peripheral teeth, to compress the meat cutpassing therebetween, a shaft to drive the stationary roller, slidablejournalling means for the adjustable roller mounted in the uprights,extendible transmission means between the shaft and the movable rollerto cause opposite rotation thereof, a locking device connected to saidslidable journalling means and supported by the uprights to fix theposition of said journalling' means with respect to each other inadjusted position, a guard at the rear of each roller and being securedto the uprights and having serrations to receive the roller teeth andprevent the meat from winding on the rear of either roller, and aplatform between the uprights and disposed in front of the rollers forfeeding meat cuts therethrough.

3. In a meat tenderizing machine, end supporting uprights, a stationarycrushing roller journalled in the uprights and having peripheral teeth,an adjustable crushing roller cooperating with the stationary roller andhaving oppositely disposed peripheral teeth to compress the meat cutpassing therebetween, a shaft to drive the stationary roller, slidablejournalling means for the adjustable roller mounted in the uprights,extendible transmission means between the shaft and the movable rollerto cause opposite rotation thereof, a locking device connected to saidslidable journalling means and supported by the uprights to fix theposition of said journalling means with respect to each other inadjusted position, said extendible transmission means comprising a gearon said drive shaft, a gear on said adjustable roller, a linkageextending between the drive shaft and the roller and cooperating gearscarried by the linkage movable therewith, said cooperating gearsdrivingly connected with the gears on the drive shaft and the adjustableroller.

4. In a meat tenderizing machine, end supporting uprights, a stationarycrushing roller journalled in the uprights and having peripheral teeth,an adjustable crushing roller cooperating with the stationary roller andhaving oppositely disposed peripheral teeth to compress the meat cutpassing therebetween, a shaft to drive the stationary roller, slidablejournalling means for the adjustable roller mounted in the uprights,extendible transmission means between the shaft and the movable rollerto cause opposite rotation thereof, and a locking device connected tosaid slidable journalling means and supported by the uprights to fix theposition of said journalling means with respect to each other inadjusted position, said journalling means comprising slides adjustableon the upright support, said locking device comprising threaded shafts.connected respectively with the slides to move the same, each threadedshaft having a sprocket 10 MURRAY LANG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hunter Nov. 14, 1882Carter Apr. 14, 1885 Schmidt Sept. 17, 1889 McBratney Oct. 19, 1909Short July 4, 1911 Short Oct. 16, 1934 Hoy et a1 Aug. 9, 1938 FOREIGNPATENTS Country Date Germany Mar. 16, 1936

